Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Emergency Management of Tooth Avulsion among Medical Students in Melaka, Malaysia: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Dentofacial injuries are usually the result of sporting activities, falls at home, road traffic accidents, fights, or intentional assaults. Tooth avulsion among the victims of such accidents is quite common. Soon after the accident, most victims seek help from medical professionals. Aim This study was designed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practice of emergency management of avulsed teeth among medical students in Melaka, Malaysia, and the need to include dental trauma emergency management as a part of their undergraduate training. Materials and methods A self-administered questionnaire was distributed among medical students to gather data on their profile and self-assessed perceived knowledge of dental avulsion and its emergency management. Results Of the 190 students, 187 (98.4%) had low knowledge and 3 (1.6%) had some knowledge on the emergency management of tooth avulsion. Conclusion Medical students in Melaka have low knowledge regarding dental avulsion and its emergency management. Therefore, it is recommended to introduce dental trauma emergency management as a part of their undergraduate training. Clinical significance Introducing dental trauma emergency management as a part of the medical curriculum can help educate and train the students to be competent future medical professionals with sound knowledge on first-aid management of avulsed teeth. They would be able to act efficiently and effectively, thereby reducing the extra-alveolar time and, hence, contributing to the better prognosis of such teeth. How to cite this article Varghese E, Zhen-Ying JN, Law LL, Samson RS, Soe HHK. Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Emergency Management of Tooth Avulsion among Medical Students in Melaka, Malaysia: A Cross-sectional Study. World J Dent 2017;8(4):273-280.